Re1194 - Maintenance payments: Child
Support Agency Assessments
CSA assessments do not look like legal agreements, court orders
or tax assessments. They normally take the form of letters from the
Child Support Agency office which is dealing with the application
for maintenance. These letters are headed 'Your Child Support
Maintenance Assessment' and are sent to
- the
absent parent - notifying him or her that
`Following the application by `n' (the parent with care) for child
support maintenance for `x' (name of child) the Child Support
Officer has calculated that the weekly amount payable is £y.
This is payable from (date)......' and
- the
parent with care of the child - notifying her or
him that `Following your application (or the application by the
absent parent) for child support maintenance, the Child Support
Officer has calculated that the weekly amount payable by `n' (the
absent parent) is £y. This is payable from (date) for `x'
(name of child) born...'.
The letters may then go on to show how the payments are
calculated and how to appeal against the assessment if either side
disputes the figure. The payer and the recipient will, of course,
only be able to produce
their letter, not that of the other party to the
assessment. Variations of the wording will occur, but the letter
should always
- be from the Child Support Agency
- indicate the name of the child or children
concerned
- show the weekly amount(s) payable and
- show the starting date for the payments.
This date is the 'effective' date for the purposes of the Child
Support Act, but may not be effective for tax purposes, see Re1196
- Re1197.
Since the CSA can make interim assessments while full
information is being obtained, see Re1197, and final assessments
may be reviewed, it is important to ensure that you are dealing
with the correct assessment(s) in force for the year in question.
A final assessment may be reviewed
- on appeal by either party
- under new procedures introduced early in
1995 to reduce the burden on payers whose previously settled
payments substantially increased
- where there is a change in the
circumstances of the absent parent or parent with care and either
party seeks an adjustment or
- as part of a regular programme of review
by the CSA, this will usually be every two years.
